ABOUT VOLUNTARY LABELING INITIATIVE

As consumers consider purchasing options with sustainable attributes, USDA wants to make it easy for consumers to identify biobased products. The USDA Certified Biobased Product label, displayed on a product certified by USDA, is designed to provide useful information to consumers about the biobased content of the product.

A business with a biobased product that meets USDA criteria may apply for certification, allowing them to display the USDA Certified Biobased Product label on the product. This label assures a consumer that the product contains a verified amount of renewable biological ingredients (referred to as biobased content). Consumers can trust the label to mean what it says because manufacturer’s claims concerning the biobased content are third-party certified and strictly monitored by USDA.

Products participating in the voluntary labelling initiative have their biobased content measured using ASTM D6866 as part of the certification process. To qualify, a product must meet or exceed USDA’s minimum biobased content requirements. Products that fall with one of USDA’s designated categories must meet or exceed the minimum biobased content percentage in its given category. Products that do not fall within any USDA designated product categories must contain at least 25% biobased content to qualify for certification.

The USDA BioPreferred website has information on how to apply for the label.